Rail-cutting device



F. C. HASSE.

RAIL CUTTING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR, a. 1918.

Patentediline s, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

-' INVENTORI,

WITNESS.

xlargiwzm F. c. H ASSE.

RAIL CUTTING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 8, 1918. 1,342,502. PatentedJune 8,1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Hill. 16

Wwrvss: v INVENTOR a rd aulm M 61 BY F HTT'YS.

RAIL-CUTTING ijn'vionb Application filed March 8,

TD {LZZ whom it mayv concern:

we it known that l, FRANKLIN C. HAssn, a citizen of the United States,and a resident, of Congress Park, in the county of Cook and State oflllinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inRail-Cutting Devices, of which the following is a description, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of inyspecification. i i f My invention relates to a device adapted for thepurpose of cuttingrailroad rails, or

other similar structural metallicbeams or members;- the' device beingespecially adapted for use in connection with rails that have been laidorput into place.

The vobject of my invention isto provide aiconstruction which is moreespecially intended to employ acut'ting blow-pipe or' torch, which isadjustably secured by the device to the rail and enables a'quick' andeven cut to be obtained. k r

Another object of the invention is the provision of a'device which maybe quickly and readily adjusted to various sizes of rails,ror otherstandard structural members, as will be apparent from the followingdetailed'description of the accompanying drawings, whereinz- 1 I Figure1 illustrates my improved device in side elevation attached to a T-rail.

Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view taken on the'line 22 of Fig. 1lookingin the direction of the arrows.

device, as disclosed in Fig. 1', clamped in op- Fig. 3 is an endelevation of my improved erat-ive position on a T-rail,- with the lattershown partially cut.

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view of a'modilied form of blow-pipeholding means.

ln'the particular exemplification ofthe invention, I have shown itapplied to a well known type of T-rail indicated at'A; the device beingin place for the cutting operation, which, according to the disclosuremade in Fig. 3, has been'partially made; having been begun at the baseof the rail and continued in a vertical direction, as shown at a.

The device comprises a main portion on frame 5 provided with downwardlypresented ends 6 and 7 the distance between the downwardly presentedends in order that the device may straddle the rail, with the ends ofthe frame disposed on opposite sides of the head of the rail, as jSpecification of Letters Patent; i

7 heights;

being. greater than the width of the head of a rail vided with anangular or bent portion, disposed. substantially perpendicular to the?1918. serial No. 22i',332-.-1- 1 shown in Fig. 1; tapered inwardly orarranged atan inclinae 'tion toward thehead of therail so as to en-.able t to engage with the lower edge of the rail-head,- as; shown at .8.in Fig. 1 Thecend;

and portions of the main frame may bepro vlde'd with suitable Vreinforcing 'ribs, as shownin the drawings, in order to give the11ecessary-strengtl1. The end 6 isnot intended-to engage with the rail,but is pro-g vided with; the pivoted clamping memberwhich comprisesthezlever 9 terminating in the cam-portion .10. which is adapted. to bebrought into clamping or wedgingengagige v ment with the adjacent side:oftlie'head of the trail, as shown in Fig.1. The cam-pontion 10 isreadily brought into wedging or clamping engagement with the rail-head smply by the downward -movement of the ii tedd v y isip'referably J .75handle or lever-portion 9, about the pin '11 wh ch formsa pivotalpointfor the lever on the end 6 of; the main frame 5. In order to 5 l adaptthe device to different widths or sizes,-

of rails, the end 6 isshown providedwith a plurality ofpivot-receivlngholes 12 for the pivot pin-l1.

The oppositeend ofthe main frame, 5,,

to-wit the end .13 which is provided with an? elongated vertically;disposed slot, shown in dotted lines 1' at 14 in Figs. 1 and3, adaptedtoreceive; a

suitable bolt or pin 15 wherebythe bar or stem 16 isadjustably securedin position on the head-portion 13. The bolt {or pin 15 is vertically bymeans of slot 14 in the head 13,;

thus adapting the device to rails of different The lower end of bar 16terminates in a sleeve or'hollow portion 18, adapted to be disposed in adirection lengthwise of the rail. This sleeve-portion 18 is adapted toreceive,

the cylindricalshank or portion of an arm 19, wliiclrlatter is intendedto carry or pivotally support the cutting torch or blowpipe,indicated'atQO. The arm 19 is pro longitudinal axis of the arm, asclearly provided with the depending; port1on 7, also terminates n -a 1gulde-head provided with suitable; clamping means, for examplethe nutand washer, indicateiil at 17 inFig. 3,- which enables the bar or stem16 to be firmly clamped to the head 13 of the shown in Fig. and thisbent portion or end is of sufficient width to permit of a slot 21, beingformed therein, which receivesthe blow-pipe clamping and holding membersnow to be referred to. The blow-pipe holding membersconsist of aneye-bolt 22, the

' I shankwhereof is 'adaptedto extend through a suitable bushing 23,seeFig. 2, whi'ch, with the. shank of the, eye-bolt, passes through theslot 21 of arm 19.- The bushing enables the eye-bolt-22 to be firmlylocked or clamped in the desired position by means of the nut 24: whichtakes about the threaded end of thebushing 23 and engageswith theside ofthe arm 19, as clearly shown inFigs. 2 and ,3, while-the eye-bolt 22 isheld in place i 7 against displacement by asuitable nut'25.

I regulatedbv screwing nut 30 in the proper The bushing 23 supports atransversely disposed member or saddle 26; the opposite ends whereof aresuitably grooved to receive the tip or nozzle end 27 of theblow-pipe ortorch 20; the tip being seatedin the grooves formed in both ends of thesaddle,

as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and thereby held against any movementindependent of the saddle.

, The shank or arm 19 extends through the sleeve-portion'lS of the baror stem 16, as

clearly shown in Fig. 3, and theextended end is provided with'a suitablecoil spring 28; one end whereof bears against the end of thesleeve-portion 18, while'the other end 'isengaged by'the washer ormember 29 held in place by a suitable nut 30 which screws onto thethreaded end of the shank of arm 19. It is evident from the constructionshown that the tensionof spring 28 may be direction. f ith asufiicient'compression of the springinduced by the screwing up of nut30, a frictional relation between arm 19 and sleeve 18 is provided whichwill prevent I the voluntary or free rotation of arm 1.9 in

the sleeve-portion 18, while at the same time permitting the, arm 19'tobe rotated in'sleeve 18, by the application of sufficient force orpressure on the .blow-pip'e' 20 by the operator.

The main portion or frame 5 of the device 1s provided at an intermediatepoint with portion or loop 31, which is preferably formed integral withthe main portion 5 and shown disposed at right angles thereto, so

as to extend lengthwise of the rail when the device has been put'intoplace. The opposite end of the loop or portion 81 is disposed downwardlyand terminates in a straddling" or saddle portion '32 adapted tostraddle or extend about the head of the rail A, as shown in Fig. 3. Thestraddle or saddle end 32 of the lo'oprportion 31 may be provided with areinforcing connecting [rib 33 formed integral therewith and with themain portion 5 so as to'give sufficient strength and rigidity to theframe portion rail.

point in proximity to the place where the cut is to be made, by havingthe frame 5 exas to bring the tapered or inclined side 8 of the end 7 inabuttingrelation with the side of the head. The lever 9 is then movedtend transversely of the head of the rail, 7 as shown in Fig; 1, andplacing the same so downwardly so as to bring the cam-portion lOintofirm relation with the adjacent side of In order to provide a properclamping enthe head of the rail, asindicated in Fig. 1, i

7 gagement with the rail operated on, adjustment of the clampingelement, as previously.

stated,is accomplished by placing the pivot pin 11 through the properhole 12 at the end of the frame-portion. It is evidentthat theadjustment of. the clamping element just described needmerely be alteredwhere the head'or upper end of the rail-sectionjto be cut is ofmaterially smaller transverse di-' mensions than that disclosed in Fig.1, as the clamping element is capableof-clamping. engagement withoutreadjustment even though there may be slight variations in thetransverse dimensions or sizes of the rail-head, as such variations willbe taken care ofby the increasing radius of the wedg ing cam-portion 10from pivot 11. .With

the device thus adjusted, the bar or stem16 1s then adjusted verticallyby'means of the clamp-nut 17 on the 'end' of bolt 15 so as to adjust thedeviceto the heightgof the cutting similar sized rails, no furtheradjustment need be made after the adjustments just referred to have beencompleted; and the device can be readily clamped to the rail through thesingle operation or movement of the lever 9 of the clamping element.

The eye-bolt '22 is drawn into firm relation with the bushing 23 andsaddle 26 by means of the nut 25, after the tip 27 of the blow-pipe20has been passed'through the eye of the bolt. 'Thescrewing up of nuts24 and. '25 will cause the eye-bolt to force the nozzle ofthe blow-pipeinto the grooves of the saddlemember 26, and thus prevent any movementof the nozzle of the blow-pipe relative to the saddle '26; while thesaddle 26, in turn, will be held in firm frictional relation withthe'end of arm 19 by means of nut 24, through the medium of the bushing23. With the'tension of spring 28 regulated so as to provide asufficient frictional relation between thearm 19 and sleeve-portion 18,it is apparent that the blow-pipe will be held While the device is beingused for.

against movement except through the application of sufli'cient force bythe operator on the blow-pipe; the frictional relation, however,permitting the tip or nozzle of the blow-pipe to be oscillated or movedthrough the are of a circle so as to direct the'cutting flame in aprogressive manner from the initial point, or point of beginning, to thefinal end of the cut to be made; as for ex ample the tip of theblow-pipe may be rotated so as to direct the cutting flame in thedicated by the dotted line 00, progressing upwardly and completed whenthe nozzle has been rotated so as to direct the flame in the directionof dotted line 00, thereby completely cutting or severing the rail.

With the arm 19 extending toward one side of the main or frame-portionof the device, it is apparent that the frame portion will in no wayinterfere with the swinging movement of the blow-pipe so as to directthe flame toward the adjacent edge of the rail-base, namely along thedotted line 00.

In Fig. 4 I illustrate a modified form of the blow-pipe holding means,namelythe blow-pipe nozzle-receiving portion of they device. Instead ofemploying the saddle and eye-bolt construction shown in Fig.2, theblow-pipe nozzle-holding, means may be in the nature of an angle member34:,with

one leg or side of the angle terminating in a tapered sleeve portion 35;The opening through the sleeve-portion 35 is preferably tapered towardthe tip of the sleeve so as to correspond somewhat with the taper of thenozzle of the blow-pipe; and the opposite end of the opening is alsoslightly beveled as shown at 36 to receive-the beveled base orbutt-portion of the blow-pipe nozzle. lVith this construction, a firmholding relation is provided. Vith this form of holding means, it isapparent that while the blowpipe will be firmly held in place, theblowpipe may alsobe oscillated in the sleeveportion 35 so as to disposethe blow-pipe lengthwise of the rail and thus enable the flame to bedirected toward the upper part of the rail in situations where the tiesor road-bed would otherwise interfere with the proper use of the deviceon laid rails. The other leg or side of angle member 345 is intended toabut against the angularly disposed portion of arm 19 which is shown insection in Fig. 4; the side of member 34. being provided with a holeadapted to receive a short bolt 37,-the head whereof takes against theside of member 34:, while the threaded end of the :bolt extends througharm 19 and receives anut38 whereby th'e member is removably secured inlace.

The Constructions shown permit the device to be quickly applied andsecured to the rail to be cut and enable the blow-pipe to be swung intoany position necessary to apply the cutting flame at the desired pointon the e'lementor rail to be out; and while I believe the constructionsto be the'simplest embodiments of my invention, the same may be Valtered in certain respects within the scope 0 the claims without,however, departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim is 5' 1. 'A device of the class described, comprising aframe consisting of a pair of railstraddling portions-rand anintermediate loop or hand-receiving portion, one of the ends of thestraddling portions being adapted to engage beneath the rail-head, a

wedging member pivotally secured to the opposite end of" said straddlingportions so I V as to oscillate vertically, said wedging membercomprising a lever terminating in a' cam, the latter beingadapted toform wedging engagement withthe rail-head, a vertically disposed'memberadjustably secured to one end-of said frame so as to depend along therail side,ja blow-pipe carrying element rotatably mounted in the lowerend of said vertically disposed member and adapted to rotate about ahorizontally disposed axis, means whereby said element is yieldinglyheld in its adjusted relation with saidvertically disposed member, 1 andblow-pipe holding means comprising a socketed member and nozzle-seatingsaddle, the saddle and I socketed member being adapted to haveadjustable clamping relation with each other and with said element.

2. A device of the class described, comprising a frame adapted tostraddle a rail.

and having depending ends, one of the ends being formed to provideclamping relationwith the rail, means pivotally securedto the other.e'ndof the frame and adapted to swing into clamping relation with; therail-head when the means is oscillated, a vertically disposed memberadjustably secured to the first mentioned end of the .frame andterminating at its lower end in a sleeve portion, a

horizontally disposed arm rotatably mountt ed in said sleeve-portion,yielding means secured to one end of said arm and adapted to provide ayielding. frictional relation between said arm and sleeve-portion, andblow-pipe holding means secured at the free end offsaid arm, said meanscomprising saddle member in which the nozzle of the blow-pipe rests anda clamping member through which the nozzle extends, the saddle memberand clamping member having contacting relation with each other.

V 3. A device of the class described, com- 1O laterally beyond the frameside, means gaging aw, adjustably pivoted to the other end of the frame,a vertically adjustable member secured to the first mentioned end of theframe, depending beneath the rail-head I and terminating in a laterallydisposed sleeve portion, a second member rotatably V secured in saidsleeve portion and disposed whereby said second memberis frictionallyheld in its adjusted positions, and blow-pipe holding means adj ustablysecured to one end of said second member.- Y r 4. A device of the classdescribed, comprising asaddle portion adapted to fit over the head of arail, one end of said portion being formed to engage beneath therailhead, a cam adjustably pivoted to the other end of said portionso asto engage With the adjacent side of therail-head a' vertically disposedmember secured to one end'of the saddle portion so as to depend beneaththe rail-head, a second member rotatably secured in thelower end of thefirst member so as to extend parallel With the rail beyond the side ofthe saddle portion, yielding meanswvhereby the second member is held inits adjusted positions, and'a blow-pipe holding socketed member adjustably secured to one end of said second member. 1 FRANKLIN GLHASSE. iWitnesses: 7 i 7' y W. J. LEIGHTY, I 1 MURIEL M. GoLDsTEIN;

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,342,502, grantedJune 8, 1920, upon the application of Franklin 0. Hesse, of CongressPark, Illinois, for an im provement in Rail-Cutting Devices, an errorappears in the printed specification requiring correction as follows:Page 3, line 129, claim 2, for the Word contacting read contracting; andthat the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction thereinthat the same may conform to the record of the case in the PatentOffice.

Signed and sealed this 6th day of July, A. 1)., 1920.

SEAL M. H. GOULSTON,

Acting Commissioner of Patents.

